Free Web NovelChapter 379: Chapter 326: Cocks Crow at Dawn, Cattle Bellow at Dusk
Just when Liu Haiping and Mi Shu thought conflict was inevitable, Ms. Housekeeper suddenly stopped trembling and calmed down, averted her gaze, and continued her work. Skillfully, she took a small box from the wooden chest on the right side of the vanity and, after opening it, she applied a layer of white powder on Liu Haiping’s face, turning her originally dull complexion ghostly pale.
Tong Han also knew not to push her luck and aimed not to provoke Ms. Housekeeper further. She moved away from her original spot, trying to keep a distance from the folding screen.
The room fell into an eerie silence. Everything earlier seemed to have dissipated like smoke. Soon after, the makeover was completed. Even though Tong Han was mentally prepared, the reflection of Liu Haiping’s bizarre makeup in the mirror still startled her.
Bright red lips, exaggeratedly thick eyebrows, matched with a deathly pale face; Liu Haiping herself was frightened by her appearance in the mirror. At that moment, she looked exactly like a paper effigy.
"Why must I be dressed like this?" Liu Haiping still harbored a sliver of hope, turning her head towards Ms. Housekeeper while forcing a smile, "Ms. Housekeeper, I’m not familiar with the house... Could it be... Could it be that someone will accompany me outside at night?"
But Ms. Housekeeper did not even bother to listen, pulling out a bundle of red cloth from her bosom and stuffing it into Liu Haiping’s hands, a dirty Red Bridal Veil.
"I will only say this once, so listen carefully," Ms. Housekeeper maintained her frosty demeanor, "There are a few rules in this village, and the first one is that going out at night is strictly forbidden. The miasma in the mountains is severe, and sunrise and sunset are not clear, so we regard the crowing of the rooster as morning and the mooing of the cow as evening."
"Regardless of whether it’s light outside or not, you may only go out when you hear the rooster crow, similarly, regardless of whether it’s dark or not, only when you hear the cow moo does it count as night, got it?" Ms. Housekeeper emphasized these words with a stern expression, her face rigid as if she were dead.
"Got it," the three nodded.
Turning her eyeballs, Ms. Housekeeper stared intently at Liu Haiping, "Tonight, you’ll stay alone in this room. Once you hear the mooing of the cow, you must immediately light the two candles on the dressing table, then put on the Red Bridal Veil and sit in front of the vanity facing this Pear Blossom Mirror."
"What then?" Liu Haiping asked softly.
"Wait," Ms. Housekeeper’s face was stiff as she enunciated every word, "You just need to sit here, and do nothing."
"Remember, no matter what you hear or sense, it’s all false. Don’t move, and definitely do not open the window or door. We won’t come for you. Tonight, everyone in the village will stay quietly in their own rooms."
Ms. Housekeeper’s voice lowered as she stressed, "Whatever noises you hear outside, don’t bother about them, and don’t be curious. Just do your own task until dawn. The dawn I speak of is after the rooster crows."
After these instructions, the sky outside was already darkening. Ms. Housekeeper gathered up the old clothes Liu Haiping had changed out of, preparing to leave with Tong Han and Mi Shu. However, Tong Han requested to stay a bit longer, wanting to speak privately with Liu Haiping.
Perhaps the earlier incident had intimidated Ms. Housekeeper because, this time, she did not obstruct them but urged them to hurry as it was about to get dark.
After finishing speaking, Ms. Housekeeper walked out of the room by herself to wait for them outside, and Tong Han didn’t hesitate, quickly stepping forward to close the door.
Now there were only the three of them left in the room, which made it much easier to talk. Mi Shu didn’t know how to comfort Liu Haiping, she opened her mouth but couldn’t say anything. After all, anything she might say would sound so feeble and ineffective, as everyone understood that, as the body double for Miss Du, Liu Haiping’s chances of survival were not great.
A nice way to put it is calling it a body double; to put it bluntly, it’s a scapegoat for death. freёwebnovel.com
Liu Haiping now seemed resigned to her fate, and surprisingly, she had the most relaxed expression among the three. After a bitter smile, she extended her hand from the sleeve of the red bridal gown, slowly opening her palm to reveal a golden bar inside, "Take this, you might need it later."
"Don’t give up, the mission has just begun, and the difficulty shouldn’t be too high." Mi Shu spoke up to comfort her, "Just remember the key words the housekeeper mentioned, hear nothing, don’t get involved, don’t ask, and remember, the signals of dawn and dusk are the crowing of a rooster and the lowing of a cow, everything else is fake."
In contrast, Tong Han was more forthright. She stepped forward and took the gold bar from Liu Haiping’s hand. The gold bar was crudely made but quite heavy. There was a strange protrusion on one side, and close examination revealed that the bulge formed an incomplete circle, with about a quarter of it missing, showing signs of filing inside.
Tong Han didn’t know what this ultimately meant, and there wasn’t time to ponder it now. She pulled a chair over to sit next to Liu Haiping and looked up at Mi Shu, "Keep an eye on the outside for me, thanks."
Mi Shu cooperated well, checking outside the door first, then moving behind the window to see if anyone was eavesdropping.
Meanwhile, Tong Han took Liu Haiping’s hand, her expression serious as she instructed, "Listen carefully to what I’m about to tell you. Do you see that screen there? There’s a large wardrobe behind it, and something about it is not right. I suspect it might be hiding a body or something similar."
Upon hearing this, Liu Haiping’s eyelid twitched, and she immediately looked towards the screen, her fingertips turning cold. Tong Han grasped her hand more firmly, seemingly to lend her strength, "Don’t panic, let me finish." Tong Han lowered her voice, "I suspect that the danger tonight comes not only from outside but potentially from that wardrobe as well. No matter what happens, stay away from that screen, do not move it either. The screen and the walls on either side create a shadow-hiding spot, and if you get close enough to disrupt the Feng Shui, the dirty stuff inside might come out, and then you would be doomed."
"Is the monster hiding... hiding in the wardrobe?" Liu Haiping had never anticipated such a scenario, and her mental defenses shook in that instant, tears uncontrollably welling up in her eyes. She didn’t want to cry, but it was purely a subconscious bodily reaction.
"I advise you not to cry. Once you ruin your makeup, the consequences are unpredictable." Tong Han warned.
With just that remark, Tong Han made Liu Haiping hold back her tears, and at that moment, the ever-vigilant Mi Shu signaled that someone was coming. Soon, the door was pushed open, and the housekeeper stood outside with a gloomy expression, "It’s almost time."
Liu Haiping held Tong Han’s hand, her eyes reddening, unwilling to let her leave. Tong Han opened her arms, gently hugged Liu Haiping, and whispered in her ear, "Remember what I told you, good luck."
Mi Shu followed suit, embracing Liu Haiping to say goodbye.
The two followed the old housekeeper quite a distance before Tong Han looked back one last time, only to see Liu Haiping, still in her bridal gown, staying behind the door, watching them leave.
